Faculty Collaboration Database

From Gut to Hormones: Unraveling the Role of Gut Microbiota in (Phyto)Estrogen Modulation in Health and Disease. Mol Nutr Food Res 2024 Mar;68(6):e2300688

Date

02/12/2024

Pubmed ID

38342595

DOI

10.1002/mnfr.202300688

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-85184482849 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   3 Citations

Abstract

The human gut microbiota regulates estrogen metabolism through the "estrobolome," the collection of bacterial genes that encode enzymes like β-glucuronidases and β-glucosidases. These enzymes deconjugate and reactivate estrogen, influencing circulating levels. The estrobolome mediates the enterohepatic circulation and bioavailability of estrogen. Alterations in gut microbiota composition and estrobolome function have been associated with estrogen-related diseases like breast cancer, enometrial cancer, and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). This is likely due to dysregulated estrogen signaling partly contributed by the microbial impacts on estrogen metabolism. Dietary phytoestrogens also undergo bacterial metabolism into active metabolites like equol, which binds estrogen receptors and exhibits higher estrogenic potency than its precursor daidzein. However, the ability to produce equol varies across populations, depending on the presence of specific gut microbes. Characterizing the estrobolome and equol-producing genes across populations can provide microbiome-based biomarkers. Further research is needed to investigate specific components of the estrobolome, phytoestrogen-microbiota interactions, and mechanisms linking dysbiosis to estrogen-related pathology. However, current evidence suggests that the gut microbiota is an integral regulator of estrogen status with clinical relevance to women's health and hormonal disorders.

Author List

Kumari N, Kumari R, Dua A, Singh M, Kumar R, Singh P, Duyar-Ayerdi S, Pradeep S, Ojesina AI, Kumar R

Authors

Susan Duyar MD Gynecology Oncology Fellow in the Obstetrics & Gynecology department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Akinyemi Ojesina MD, PhD Assistant Professor in the Obstetrics and Gynecology department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Sunila Pradeep PhD Associate Professor in the Obstetrics and Gynecology department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Breast Neoplasms
Equol
Estrogens
Female
Gastrointestinal Microbiome
Humans
Phytoestrogens